Coffee Break: Hummingbird Skull Print Silk Scarf

I don’t know if they’ve jumped the shark or not, but I still find myself wanting an Alexander McQueen skull scarf. This ivory and sky blue one is just so different from what I’d normally think of a skull scarf as looking like — it’s kind of cheeky and fun. If you wear to work, depending on how tightly you wrap it the people you work with probably won’t even notice the skulls unless they’re familiar with McQueen’s work (or, you may just want to skip it — know your office). The scarf is $385 at Nordstrom (and available in black/pink at both Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus). Hummingbird Skull Print Silk Scarf

I think my Contract’s professor is a member of that court. It is a CERAMONIAL COURT, kind of like a fraternity, and I think he once invited me to go with him to a party when I was a student. I did NOT go tho, b/c I thought he was interested in me sexueally, and I did NOT want to go to a place where alchohol was served and stuff could happen. FOOEY!

I do – I have a hard time walking in knee high rain boots. They’re comfy and don’t look like rain boots, which I appreciate. I got mine a couple years ago and I can’t remember the brand but I know Sam Edelman had a pair.

Nordies has some that are cute and then same ones in matte black that you can pull off with a pants suit. I forget the brand but I think I saw them on here. Holding up great! Very reasonably priced and probably on sale now.

Trying to get myself enrolled in my organization’s 493(b). We have two options to choose from: Vanguard and Mutual of America. I have no idea what I’m even looking for in terms of which I should choose. Since I don’t even know what I’m looking for or at, Googling it is of very limited assistance. Anyone want to guide me in the right direction? We don’t do matching, just a base contribution. It’s the same for both.

Disclaimer: don’t take investment advice on the internet. But Vanguard has good TDFs – Target Date Funds. It’s as close to “set it and forget it” as you can get for investments. You choose the year you’re going to retire and they make the adjustments for you over the decades from more to less risky as you age. For people who aren’t going to obsess over what funds they’re invested in, it’s a really friendly choice.

And if you need a primer on retirement savings, this is a good article. https://www.popsugar.com/career/What-Kind-Retirement-Fund-Do-I-Need-43166706

If they offer target date retirement funds that is a great starting point. Our company does for our 401K, employees can choose the date closest to their possible retirement date. Vanguard is known to have a good fee structure, but I have not worked with Mutual of America.

I am extremely anti-risk, so I just do Vanguard total stock market index funds. The retirement date ones make more risky investments when you’re young, and I wasn’t interested in that, even if retirement is more than 30 years away.

Whoa. You understand that if, as you imply here, you are invested 100% in total stock market funds, that is by definition riskier than any of the target date funds which all have some investment in bonds, even if it is very small for the far-off retirement dates? Being 100% in stocks is a valid choice, but if you are extremely risk averse this makes no sense at all!

Yeah – by “riskier” most target funds mean stocks, rather than bonds. So instead of being 90% stocks, 10%bonds, you are a 100% stocks.

Index funds are typically a good choice for stocks because the fees are lower, since no one needs to be paid to manage the fund – since evidence shows that active management rarely does better than the market at making money. Target funds DO tend to have higher fees, since they do require active management to reshuffle the fund in order to match the risk profile for the funds target date.

Los Angeles area R e t t e s! I hear that some of you are looking for us to start our meet ups again. Let’s do it! We can definitely do something over on the West side. Please email me at dtlarette at g m a i l. I’ll give it a few days, and then send out an email to see which dates work the best for everyone. We’ve typically done brunch on the weekends.

Athens, of course do the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum – that should take the better part of a day. If you have three full days there I might try to do a day trip to somewhere (we went to Delphi and enjoyed it). Love Santorini, it’s one of my favorite places in the world. We enjoyed hiking from Oia to Fira and you should definitely spend some time in each town, as well as Imerovigli, which is in between them. We didn’t do a boat cruise around the island, but friends did and really enjoyed it. Definitely schedule watching/photographing the sunset into your day at least once or twice. Mykonos was a letdown for me after Santorini, so I think you definitely divided your time right with more time on Santorini. But there are nice beaches and the main town (Chora) is very cute with the windmills. Obviously there’s a big nightclub scene there but we weren’t into that.

Athens: Day 1 at Parthenon and Acropolis. Get there before it opens so that you’ll be one of first to enter (there will be a couple of buses by then, but nothing like what it will be like later) and when it’s cooler. Pick up one of the maps of the random other historical sites as time/energy allows. Day 2: National Archaeological Museum. Day 3: Delphi day trip. Athens isn’t a city where you want to hang around, honestly.

Santorini: Avoid the area around the ports, particularly the historic port. It’s just lousy restaurants and cruise ship tourists buying souvenirs. I can recommend Artemis Villas (different than the Suits and Hotel) in Imerovigli. Overall, Imerovigli was a nice place to be. There were some good casual dinning and within walking distance of fine dinning. I highly, highly recommend letting your husband talk you into renting a four wheeler even though you think it’s a horrible, lame idea. It’s a lot of fun but also a very good way to get around the island. We went to wineries, a roadside bakery with some of the best pastries I’ve ever had, a couple of beaches (although none were very good… you’ll want a pool at your hotel).

We’re planning a trip to Kauai and looking to stay in an oceanfront condo on Poipu Beach. I’m overwhelmed by the options and would love to know if you have a particular condo to recommend. This would be in August. Thank you so much!

Senior Attorney let me know there were some comments about a Los Angeles area meet up. Let’s do it! If you are interested, please email me at dtlarette at the Google mail. I’ll send out some potential dates, and we can definitely do something on the west side.

I’m going to Scotland in August and would like recommendations for shoes. We’ll be doing some light hiking, so I’d rather not bring big hiking shoes. I’m really not that sporty. Do I need to bring full on sneakers or can I just wear my converse/vans type shoes? I’m not sure if it will be muddy.

How about a pair of cute sneakers? Mix between the Vans/Converse and actual support. I have a pair of Puma Vikky fashion sneakers with velvet laces that I’ve put probably 75 miles on in 3-4 months with no issues. 12 miles one day in DC.

What if you packed those shoes in August, possibly destroy them hiking and travelling…and then just toss them before coming home? Like, depending on how worn out they are by August before your trip, they might be worth one last muddy hurrah.

I would not wear converse/vans. I like hiking in trail running shoes (Saucony Peregrine) and actually prefer them to hiking boots. My memory of Scotland is that it will be damp this time of year, so you will at least want something with some grip on the sole.

Buy a pair of trail sneakers/lightweight waterproof hiking boots. You can find deals on Amazon – you will have to search for them and it will be lucky sizes, but you can probably snag a pair for like $30.

In case you’re still reading, I went to Scotland in early September a few years ago and wore a pair of Sorel rain boots with supportive insoles (just Dr Scholls or similar from the drugstore), and that worked great for light hiking and general walking around. Waterproof, easily cleaned, comfy, and I was surprised by the number of compliments I got on them, and still get now.

Definitely worth the investment to get good shoes for any hiking— it will be muddy and wet. I brought these on an August trip and loved them: http://www.hotter.com/gb/en/womens/womens-shoes/mist-shoes. Perfect for light hiking.

Based on comments from the morning thread re:going in-house – does anyone have advice for someone who keeps getting interviews, getting to the last round and being told they are being considered alongside one other person, but then not getting the job? This has happened to my close friend 3 times in the past 2 years.

She’s not in a hurry to leave big law, but wants to go in-house eventually. I believe she is very selective about where she is applying. Should she be less selective? Or has she waited too late to go in-house? She made partner 7 years ago. I’m in local government so I’m not a lot of help.

If someone is coming in #2 after interviewing, there’s probably nothing that they’re doing wrong. It could be luck/unlucky or the perception of “fit”. Perhaps just a bit more polish at interviews or hitting the right notes in discussions might be the key.

She could also reach out to the GC and say that she loved the opportunity to interview, keep the door open for the future and ask if the GC had any constructive feedback for future interviews.

It’s nothing she’s doing wrong — this is VERY common for in house interviews; I had it happen to me at countless places and so did friends of mine — all of us coming from different biglaw firms; with different personalities/interviewing styles. In house is such a number crunch — one position opens up and 500 people apply — you beat out 498 and just can’t beat out that last 1 sometimes. I think she needs to just keep interviewing if she wants this. Plus I think as a partner who isn’t desperate to leave — when/if she doesn’t get jobs with companies she’s interested in, she needs to reach out to those GCs, connect with them at industry events etc. so that next time a position opens (may be a yr or 2 down the road), they think — hmm we really liked that person we met last time. I think a lot of in house does get filled that way — people who they’ve met in prior interviews who they haven’t been able to make offers to get a “preference” over “new” applicants. I imagine she doesn’t have a book? If she does, she could discretely put it out there that she has an interest in going in house and see if she can snag something before it even becomes a posted position.

I’ve been the #2 person (the person hired had previously worked for the company, so nothing I could do about that) and I’ve been the #1 (and the #2 person was hired a few months later when another position opened up). Letting the hiring person know that she continues to be interested, and keeping up those connections, is key. It’s amazing how much hiring is done through networking – and if she was the #2, they must have thought highly of her!

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